when my life was at its worst
When I hit a low low lowwww point in my life, I desperately wanted someone to save me.
I wanted someone to break me out of the prison I had built for myself.
But (thankfully), no one came.
The truthtruth is:
Once we are all grown up, the only one who can save us is ourselves.
Other people can support us, guide us, shine a light, show the way.
But, we are the ones who must take the steps.
I know this isn’t easy.
After I accepted this hard truth I still struggled.
I let the cucumbers rot in my fridge after four days of green juice – it’s so much work to
clean the juicer.
I didn’t stop buying books, but I stopped reading them – sighhhh, nothing is working.
I abandoned yoga class after 30 minutes – it’s too hot! I can’t breathe!
I gave up journaling after three weeks – it’s too time consuming.
I quit meditating after 97 seconds – my mind is too busy.
I spent a few years succumbing to shiny object syndrome – constantly chasing the next thing that promised to transform my life.
The problem, of course, is that transformation takes time.
In my desperation, I was looking for a quick fix.
I wanted my anxiety to be soothed, my depression to be lifted, my self-worth to blossom, my unhealthy coping mechanisms to vanish, my problematic patterns with men to disappear immediately (pleaseandthankyou).
When the external thing I was counting on didn’t save me, I moved on.
What I know now is, even the most effective method in the world will fail if you don’t take radical self-responsibility.
No matter our current circumstances, or our past circumstances, the saviour we are waiting for … is us.
We need to do the work to get from where we are now to where we want to be.
In order to save yourself, you can use this handy acronym: ACT.
ACTION: the only way things will get better is if you take action to make them better. Small, simple, daily movements in an aligned direction will make all the difference.
CONSISTENCY: we need repetition to rewire neural pathways. We need to train our brain and our body to stay in new paradigms, to accept new beliefs, to have new responses, to create new realities.
TENACITY: stick with it, for as long as it takes. You are worth it.
I’ve never met anyone who transformed their life overnight.
Everyone I know who is an ‘overnight success’ took ten years to get there.
But, you can wake up tomorrow and realize your self-talk is a little kinder, your breath is a little deeper, and your heart feels a smidge lighter.